Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-09-23
THE KEY OF THE CASKET.

airy fame, went to Italy to collect ma
terials and to consult authorities before
beginning his projected tragedy of Caesar
Borgia." his friends and relatives in
New York We're far from anticipating the
actual results of his researches. These
had brought about his acquaintance with
a certain DR.. Alexander Marini. an aged
physician of Milan, who claimed descent
from one of the collateral branches of the
Borgia family. This old doctors grand
daughter Lucrezia Marini. was wonder
fully beautiful, an Italian blonde, glowing
with the freshness of extreme youth,
being then hardly II. and with all the
ulster of a loneliness which. as her grand
father declared, revived and reproduced
the charms of her of the same name who
was the famous bride of Duke Alfonso
of Ferrara. The tragedy remained I'M
written, and Chester Seabrook took to
wife this dazzling creature. If, wedding
In haste, he afterwards repented at leisure,
the outside world was destined never to
know. His married life lasted little
over one year. His brilliant Italian wife
died in giving birth to son. and the
young widower returned to his native
land with his little child, possibly a wiser
man. but certainly sadder one. 1t was
an ominous fact that he never referred to
his wife in any way, nor to the expert
ences of his few months of matriinony.
miniature, painted on ivory and repro
ducing the glowing yet delicate beauty of
the fair Lucrezia, was all that remained
to him of that episode in his life; that, and
the boy, who had received the name of
Louis, and who bore well his transfer to
the United States growing and thriving
as though he had been born under the
shadow of the Stars and Stripes.
When Louis was little over ~ years
of age his father died suddenly of typhoid
pneumonia. Mr.. Seabrook had never
married again, circumstance usually
attributed by the world at large to his
devotion to the memory of his wife. In
this they were probably mistaken. The
man who has been extremely happy in
his married life, and who is left a
widower, is usually very anxious to
marry again as soon as possible. He misses
the domestic peace the joys of tranquil
home affection. and his desire to remarry
is almost invariably in proportion to the
felicity bestowed upon him by his wife.
The widower of shrew, a fool. or a dis
agreeable and uncongenial woman, is, on
the other hand, very apt to remain
single. Having once escaped from the
dungeon and torture chamber. he is very
careful to keep out of them forevermore;
and for one reason or another Chester
Seabrook never again made any attempts
to enter the holy estate of matrimony.
He had one only sister, Mrs. Richard
Marsden, and to her and to her husband
he bequeathed the guardianship of his
son and of that sons large fortune. 1t
was healthy natured and happy family
In which the boy grew to manhood. Mrs.
Marsden's three sons were all older than
Louis, and did not, it is true, take very
kindly to their cousin. But her only
daughter, little Grace, was some years
his junior, and, as is often the case in
such instances with intelligent. preco-
cious little girls, she developed great
fancy for her moody boy cousin, and re-
gularly took him under her protection
II is the early development of the mother
instinct the sweetest and tenderest ele-
ment in feminine nature. that thus finds
scope and occupation; and Grace petted
Louis, and watched over him, and some
times scolded him in a protecting patron
iZing way that, coming from so small a
girl, would have been comical if it had
not been very charming.
For the poor boy needed all the affec-
ton that could possibly be bestowed upon
him. He was never strong, and his dis
position was gloomy and morbid to de-
gree that was extraordinary in one that
was to so great degree a favorite Of for
tune. He was shy and silent TO a pain
f,1l ont nd Coli
he developed no taste for either art or
music. He decided early in life to be-
come u physician, but after studying
medicine fer some few years in desul-
tory, languld way devoting the chief
part of his time to investigations concern
ing the nature and properties of poisons,
he suddenly announced that, on attain
ing his majority, he had made up his
mind to relinquish all idea of studying a
profession. And he likewise astonished
Mr. and Mrs. Marsden by making formal
proposals for the hand of Grace.
These proposals were negatived at
once. and decidedly, by Mr. Marsden.
You are both of you too young to
think of such thing as marriage, or
even of an engagement, Louis, his uncle
made answer. "You are only Just 81
and Grace is but a few weeks over IS.
Moreover, l have decided objections to
the marriage of first cousins.
"You do not know to what you doom
me, uncle" was the gloomy response OF
the young man. "Grace is all that have
to live for upon earth, and if ! lose
her.
"Now, do not talk nonsense, Louis, -
responded Richard Marsden, briskly, bu,
not unkindly. Grace is too much of a
child to he allowed to listen to your prof
fers of affection. She cares no more fol-
you than she does for Ned, or Harry, Oh
Frank. You are like brother TO her
nothing more-and / do not mean t.
have her mind disturbed by anything like
love making Besides, you have seer
nothing of the world, as you should d.
before choosing a wife and settling down
to matrimony and quietude. Go abroad
spend the next two years in European
travel and them